I'm Not Evil, But My Friends Are
by Makori
Summary: A new Titan is in town. Or is he a new villian? Find out! Several eventual pairings. RobxStar, RavxBB, CyxBee, JxOC
1. Prologue: Night Pursuit

(A/N: This is just an idea I had. I want to know if it's worht continuing. Please review, or else I'll have to call down the awesome power of the...wait, I don't have any awesome powers. Oh well. Review anyway, please!)

**I'm Not Evil…But My Friends Are**

Jump City at night was almost always strangely empty and silent, despite being a very large and very busy place. Mostly, only skulking criminals and teenagers who had slipped out to smoke a hidden cigarette were the only ones on the street. The city glowed with the light from different signs. One of these signs was the Teen Titans' favorite pizza restaurant. It was supposed to be open twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week in order to step up the competition it had with McDonald's, but nobody ever came in here around this hour.

Until tonight, that is. But they weren't customers.

With a crash, a blue-haired figure flew through one of the windows, rolled on the floor, then leapt forward, feet first, and kicked through the window on the opposite side of the room. The cashier and cook slowly got up from their hiding place, then quickly ducked back down as a green cheetah leapt in through the broken window, leaping through the other one and transforming into a green pterodactyl. The cook shook his head. In all his time working at this restaurant, he'd seen a lot of weird things, and this just went right to the top of his list.

Outside, Beast Boy flapped his wings as hard and fast as he could, trying to catch up with the young criminal he had been pursuing for the last ten minutes.

_"Damn! How does he keep running like that? I'm starting to get tired, but he's still chugging!"_

Indeed, the teenager below him was running at a constant rate of about 15 mph, and hadn't slowed one bit. The changling couldn't call for support since the other Titans were off dealing with the criminals that had been accompanying the one below him.

Beast Boy got an idea, however, and dropped his altitude, turning into a velociraptor before continuing the chase on foot. He should have caught up with the teenager easily, but the youth had glanced back before tucking his hands in his pockets and leaning forward, increasing his speed, his long blue hair, pulled back into a ponytail, flapping behind him.

Beast Boy recognized what he was doing and picked up the pace, trying to keep up with the kid, but no luck. A parked car came into view up ahead, and the kid swerved towards it. Beast Boy tried to cut him off, but too late. With a graceful, yet at the same time powerful, movement, the teenager jumped at the car, hit the bumper, crushing the entire rear of the vehicle, and curled into a ball, then launched himself backwards, propelling himself feet first towards Beast Boy, who turned into his human form to dodge the attack. The blue-haired teenager simply rolled along the street to keep his momentum, then started running in the opposite direction.

Beast Boy felt worn out from the pursuit and was about to consider the chase a failure when a black wall suddenly sprang up in front of the teenager, blocking his path. The youth simply leapt at the wall, then sprang back off it, turning to run back in the direction he had originally been going when another wall sprang up in front of him. In frustration, he kicked out at it. This lasted about a second or two before a blue blast from a side building sent him sprawling.

He wasn't down long though. In an instant, he had leapt back up, dodging the metallic fist that came down at him as Cyborg joined the fray. The teenager leapt backwards, regaining his balance a second before a red disk came whizzing towards him out of the dark. With a quick snap kick, the Birdarang was knocked aside, where it deflected off one of the black walls.

Swiftly, the teenager fell forward, not because he was hit, but to dodge the green gorilla that had just taken a swipe at him. Supporting himself on his elbows, the youth brought a foot up and caught it under the gorilla's chin, knocking Beast Boy backwards into the building behind him. The blue-haired young man ducked again, barely avoiding one of Robin's kicks, before returning with his own, which the Boy Wonder dodged, though with a little bit more effort than the other youth had used to dodge his own. Cyborg came next, swinging left, right, left again, and the blue-head kept dodging, thought was very serious. He knew that although Cyborg was slow, a single punch would lay him out flat. Leaping back to give himself some space, the teenager quickly did a roll slash handstand, bringing his foot up to hit Cyborg in the face. Cyborg lurched away, clutching a bleeding nose. Abruptly, dark rings appeared around the youth's leg, holding the blue-head in midair. He panicked, focusing all his strength into trying to break free, but to no avail.

Something glowed green outside his vision, and he chuckled, relaxing and saying "I should've known better than to try and take you all on single handed."

"Yeah, well you didn't go down very easy," said Cyborg.

"You've been practicing, haven't you Seth?" asked Robin, picking up his Birdarang from where it had fallen.

Seth grinned, despite the situation, and said "Yeah, mostly on the others. They're actually pretty good fighters."

"We know **that**" said Raven's cynicalvoice from behind him.

Starfire came into his vision and said "I am sorry, Seth, but I must do this."

Seth simply nodded.

He saw Starfire charged up her hand again, then a blast and…darkness…


	2. So It Begins

((A/N: I need more reviews people! Seriously, I need to know that this story is satisfactory before I'll keep going. If you don't like it, then it's obviously now worth my time to write it. I put in another fight scene here, but if it turns out crappy, don't blame me. I'm better at writing shootouts, one of which I might put in here. But first, we'll have to see if we get to the next chapter.))

**I'm Not Evil, But My Friends Are**

_2 months previous_

Another quiet night in Jump City. It seemed that this lit up rat's nest had too many of those: nights, lights **and** rats.

In the mouth of an alley, a figure sat on top of a dumpster, sipping from a bottle in one hand and smoking a cigarette in another. Long blue hair, long left uncut, was pulled back in what had once been a ponytail. The leather strip was tied at the base of his neck, and it was obvious he hadn't let it loose in quite some time. The hair, meanwhile, had continued to grow, and it was currently past the small of his back. His face was disheveled, his eyes had deep bags under them, and his breath constantly reeked of tobacco and alcohol. His clothes were dirty, torn and bloody.

And he had been like this for weeks.

Slowly, Seth slid himself off the dumpster, holding up the now empty bottle and peering into it. Grunting, he threw it aside, not feeling the least bit tipsy, and took another drag on his cigarette. He walked out of the alley, heading towards his other usual place: a Quick-mart down the street. The owner, a Russian man named Rylik,having taken pity on a alcohol and cigarette addict, let him buy there, despite being only sixteen, as long as he paid in full, as well as a little more, which Seth always managed. His scrounging and pick pocketing earned him just enough everyday for a cheeseburger and a large whiskey. Sometimes he ran out of cigarettes and had to buy a smaller drink, then get a new pack. Whenever his lighter ran out, Rylik gave him a new one, no extra charge. The ex-Soviet knew what it was like to be addicted, since he too was an alcoholic.

Seth was about to step into the intersection that the Quick-mart was at when the glass doors flew open, flying off their hinges towards him. He stood still, however, as each door shattered on either side of him. Instead of running, he calmly dropped the stub of his cigarette, grinding it beneath his boot heel.

The dust cleared, and Seth looked upon a sight that made him sneer in hatred.

Three figures, all teens by the look of them, were walking out. One of them was diminutive, maybe he wasn't a teen after all. Another was the other side of the extreme scale, big and muscular. He was holding two bags over his shoulder, and Seth had no doubt as to what was in those bags: money, drinks and cigarettes. The third one was right in the middle of them, and right in the middle of the scale Seth was judging them by. Bright pink hair and eyes, grey skin, out-of-date platform shoes. Yeah, he knew this girl. Hell, he knew them all, though not personally.

"HIVE members…is this what you've been reduced to?" His eyes flicked between each of them, a half-smirk half-grin appearing on his face.

"Robbing Quick-marts? Especially one that belongs to a man who actually needs the money?"

"Don't give us any of your sentimental crap, sludge noggin!" shouted the diminutive bald kid. Who was he again…Gadget? Whiz? Whoever he was, boy, he really had guts.

"Yeah! We take what we want, when we want, and where we want, and nothing gets in our way!" snarled the large guy, holding up a fist. Mammoth, that was his name, wasn't it?

The pink-haired girl in the center grinned evilly. Instantly, a name came to mind: Jinx.

"And that currently includes you, garbage boy. So why don't you be a good little beggar and just start begging your way out of here, hmm?"

Seth's grin slid off his face, and he slipped his hands into his filthy jean pockets. Absently, he began tapping the ground with his toe, creating a steady beat. Mammoth dropped the bags, balling his fists and grinning like a predator that's spotted its prey. Gizmo smirked, pulled his goggles down, and pulled out several machine guns. Jinx dropped into her combat stance, once hand back, ready to snap forward and cast a hex.

In a totally cliché style, time seemed to stop.

Then, they all struck.

Gizmo's thumb depressed the trigger, firing all of the machine guns at once. Mammoth lunged forward, swinging his fist in a long haymaker. Jinx snapped her hand forward, casting a hex aimed at Seth's feet. And all the while, Seth kept looking at the ground, ignoring everything except the beat. Time was still slow for him, and there was only the beat.

_Tap._

_Tap. _

_Tap. _

_Tap. _

_Tap._

And then, Seth made his move.

With a speed that could only be seen by Kid Flash, Robin, and Cyborg's play-by-play internal camera, the boy crouched halfway, then leapt upward, dodging all three attacks at once. Flipping forward, Seth brought himself around, snapping his leg backward and swinging his foot with the force of a magnum pistol. With a loud noise that sounded like partially thawed meat hitting cement, the limb connected with Mammoth's head, sending the large teen flying forward. With a crash, he hit the asphalt, skidding for at least ten meters. Jinx and Gizmo could only gape in astonishment. No one had ever been able to lay out the large teen in one shot. Yet this dirty, bloody stranger walks up and does just that.

They recovered quickly, however, and were on him in a flash. Gizmo's gadget pack sprouted wings, and he flew in for a strafing run, cackling insanely while Jinx let off a few more hexes. Seth dodged and sidestepped, bringing his leg around in a roundhouse. Gizmo, eyes bugging out, swung up, flying into the sky, barely dodging the swing, but catching the wind it generated, which blew the flying contraption out of control. Gizmo spiraled off, smacking into a building about twenty stories up.

As Seth settled back into his 'attack form,' though he really didn't have a standard setup, a groan sounded behind him, and he glanced back to see Mammoth on his hands and knees, trying to get up off the ground.

_'Huh,' _Seth thought to himself. _'Guess it wasn't a one-hit after all.'_

His foot started tapping again, idly. Jinx took the opportunity, while the messy teenager seemed distracted, to rush forward, throwing hex after hex. However, everytime she attacked, he would evade it.

_Tap. _

_Fwoom!_

Dodge to the right.

_Tap. _

_Whoosh!_

Duck.

_Tap. _

_Whizz! _

Side-step to the left.

Jinx was starting to get tired of all this.

_'__I'll end this fight-'_ she sped towards Seth, eyes glowing pink and sparking fist cocked back.

_'NOW!'_

Seth looked up a little, but still kept his eyes on the ground, saying "You're really annoying, y'know that?"

At the same moment, Mammoth, having shaken off his concussion, struck from behind. Seth dodged both attacks by half falling, half flipping back into a handstand. From there, he stretched his legs out in opposite directions, hooking a foot in Mammoth's belt and the other on Jinx's shoulder before snapping his legs together in a scissor move, slamming his two adversaries together. The blow only stunned Mammoth temporarily, but Jinx almost lost consciousness, actually blacking out for a second. Then, Seth brought his feet back up and kicked outwards, knocking the breath out of Mammoth's lungs and giving Jinx a black eye.

Both teens fell away from Seth, who leapt back onto his feet, brushing himself off as if he was only dusty. Meanwhile, Gizmo had gotten up and turned to the blue-haired teen, who was now tapping his foot again. The diminutive genius was really pissed now. Abandoning all stealth, he tore away his ruined wings, yelling in fury. Seth, facing away from the lunatic kid, simply kept tapping, though, if they knew it was coming, one might have noticed that he shifted his weight slightly. His foot kept tapping, and he kept staring at the ground, even as Gizmo noisily came after him with his spider like legs, ready to eviscerate the teen on the street.

_Tap. _

_Clang. _

_Tap. _

_Clang. _

_Tap. _

_Clang. _

_Tap. _

_Whirrrrrr…_

Gizmo reeled back to strike, but before he could bring the leg down, Seth spun around on one leg, then flipped backwards into another handstand, bringing his leg up into Gizmo's face, breaking the bald boy's nose. The foul-mouthed kid staggered backwards, teetering on his mechanical legs. However, it didn't take long for him to get his senses back, and he stabbed forward again, missing as Seth rolled to the side. Sweeping his leg around, he knocked one leg off the ground, then launched himself at the next one…only to get pinned and speared by the leg that had missed him two seconds earlier.

Gizmo smirked down at him in triumph as the leg punched through Seth's back, right under his ribcage, barely missing his organs and punching through the teen's belly. "What now, cludgehead?" he asked, using his very confusing vocabulary. Seth answered by curling his body up and bringing his legs up to wrap around the mechanical appendage, trying to pull it out of his back. Gizmo's machine pushed back. They were like that for a bit, sweat forming on Seth's face as his blood pooled beneath him. Gizmo was pressing the trigger as hard as he could, but it was no good. He could feel the mechanical leg slowly slide out of the blue-haired teen's back, and the machine was now applying all the force it could.

Then a voice sounded out of the darkness.

"What're you up to this time, Gizmo?"

A large shape separated itself from the darkness, revealing a tall, man. Or was he a robot? Most of him was metal, but part of his face and arms were organic. Gizmo, startled, relaxed his finger slightly, giving Seth the opening he needed. Pulling the metal leg out of his back, he went into a handstand, then twisted, ripping the robotic appendage off the machine on Gizmo's back, much to the horror of the diminutive and the surprise of Cyborg. Flipping onto his feet again, Seth kicked the top of the leg he'd torn off, driving it into the pavement. It crumpled, then folded in on itself, and Seth's spun around, letting the newly formed block of crushed metal fly at Gizmo, who was sent flying backwards into another figure that emerged from the darkness. In a flash, Robin leapt up, dodging the flying genius, crouching down as Gizmo rammed into a car.

Seth stood up, feeling blood dripping from his belly and out his back, as well as between his teeth. He poked around his mouth with a finger and discovered that at some point he had bitten his tongue.

He was about to make some crappy comment that would allow him to go away and nurse his wounds when a voice said "Just…a moment…you!"

Seth groaned in irritation, turning to see Mammoth and Jinx struggling to their feet.

"We…we're not done with…with you yet!" Jinx said, panting, blood running down her face from a cut on her forehead. Mammoth's scalp had been cut, and blood was running freely into his hair, making him look even more savage.

Seth sighed, touching his wound briefly before saying "Shit…don't you guys give up? You're persistent."

"Damn right we are!" snarled Jinx, eyes sparking pink as she held a up a fist, a hex already charged and ready to blast.

Back down the street with Robin and Cyborg, a black shape materialized from the ground, shaping into Raven as Beast Boy landed in the form of a hawk, then turned back to his regular self. Both turned to watch the face off between three freely bleeding teens, two of which they recognized, while the last was a stranger to them. Starfire came coasting down to hover silently next to Robin, watching the watching.

After two or three seconds, Beast Boy asked "Uh…who's that guy? And why aren't we fighting?"

"There seems to be a rat missing, though." Raven commented.

Starfire looked down at the ground, confused as to what she meant, as usual.

Cyborg thumbed back over his shoulder towards the decimated car, saying "He's back there."

Sure enough, Gizmo was still out of it, pinned between the caved in roof of the cab and the hunk of metal that used to be part of one of his machines.

Starfire still didn't get it though.

The blue-haired teen had started tapping the ground with his foot. This seemed to mean something to Jinx and Mammoth, who both flinched at the sound of it.

A minute passed.

Two minutes.

Then, completely opposite to how he'd been fighting, Seth struck first.

He took a step forward, then leapt into the air, striking Mammoth directly in the face. Using the large, now falling, teen as a platform, he flipped forward towards Jinx, getting cut short as a hex caught him in the chest, gouging out a cut between his third and fourth right ribs. Seth hit the ground, coughing up blood, but quickly composed himself in time to dodge another few hexes as the zoomed toward him. One more nicked his arm, creating a thin cut on his elbow, letting out even more blood.

Seth had lost so much of the vital crimson liquid that one could now track where he'd been by the trail on the asphalt that thickened as it went.

Flipping around, the blue-haired teen took a swipe with his leg, which Jinx dodged, sending another hex towards his head. The hex missed by a fraction of an inch, slicing through the dirty hair. Seth hit the ground, but did not stay still. Instead of providing a target for her, he instantly did a back flip sweeping out with another kick. This one was blind, since he hadn't checked for her location first, but it still came close to hitting, which made Jinx jerk to the side to avoid the potential killing move. Seth had already brought his foot back in and leapt up into a spinning kick, knocking loose a large mailbox next to him. The next kick sent the mailbox straight towards Jinx, who rapidly unleashed several hexes, cutting the mailbox to shreds, as well as the papers inside. They blew all over, obscuring her vision for only a moment. However, in that moment, a shape flew through them, knocking Jinx to the side with a quick to the ribs. Jinx skidded down the street aways, then slowly rose to her hands and knees, coughing up blood. Seth was already rushing her, but he was starting to feel lightheaded. All his clothes were now bloody, including his boots and socks, but he felt that he might have it in him for one last attack.

Which he did.

As soon as he was close, he did another handstand, swinging his legs around as he also spun his entire body to continue the spin, moving towards Jinx, who looked up at the last second to get a boot in the face. Her nose didn't break, but she was knocked out almost immediately and thrown at least twenty yards to the side.

Seth, however, was in much worse shape.

The last few minutes of combat had been brutal on his body, which was now running freely from his wounds.

Slowly, painfully, he turned to the Teen Titans, pulling out a blood soaked pack of cigarettes. With trembling fingers, he forced one into his mouth, then dropped the rest of the pack, holding up his lighter.

_Click._

_Click._

_Cli-whom._

The cigarette lit, he took a drag, then let it out through the side of his mouth. Tilting his head up to look at the Titans, he said, weakly "Everything's cool."

The cigarette fell from his suddenly slackened lips, hitting the asphalt as he slowly blacked out and the ground rushed up at him.

((Stare into the screen particles. When I say Three, you will submit a good review. 1...2...3!))


	3. Day One: Awakening

(A/N: Well, I said I wouldn't be very fast updating. You'll just have to have more patience. Good news is, I've already started chapter 4, so you won't be in suspense for so long.)

**I'm Not Evil…But My Friends Are**

_2 days later_

_Beep. _

_Beep. _

_Beep._

A beat.

_Thumpa. _

_Thumpa. _

_Thumpa._

No, two beats. His heart and the machine monitoring his pulse.

Seth relaxed again, feeling the blackness at the corners of his brain trying to pull him back in. He fought it, however, struggling to regain consciousness. Slowly, ever so slowly, his eyes cracked open, blinding him with a light that hung over him. His eyes shut again, then even more slowly slid back open. After a minute or so, the light didn't hurt as much, and his eyes opened all the way.

He was in some kind of med clinic, but it was strangely silent. In a normal hospital, there would be commotion, however faint it might be. There was also something on his face. With a great effort, he slowly lifted his arm, bringing his hand up to feel the alien object clasped to his mouth. He let out a sigh as he realized it was just and oxygen mask.

Slowly, he lifted himself up onto his elbows, feeling the soreness radiate all through his body. Lifting one hand, he tugged at the oxygen mask, until it finally gave way, clattering to the floor with the hose still attached. He took a deep, cool gulp of the air he was used to, not any of that 'pure oxygen' crap.

Painfully, he heaved himself up into a sitting position, and only then did he take a look at himself.

He basically looked like a rag doll.

There were so many stitches on his body it looked as though every part of him had been sewn together. A large, scabbing scar was forming on his belly where Gizmo's mechanical leg had gone through him. He slowly reached a hand back and felt a similar scar on his back, just above his right hip. There were minor wounds all over him as well that had been treated, like that one on his hand when he fell and broke the bottle of whiskey he'd been holding. The cut had been opened up, apparently to be properly cleaned out, then sewn back up. Good, that had been starting to sting a bit. But Seth's real concern were his legs. He did a quick check and found, to his relief, that there were no serious wounds on them. Mostly just minor cuts and old scars.

Seth finally looked up and took in a good view of his surroundings. It was an extensive place, mostly white, with a few medicine cabinets here and there and a computer, probably for processing medical data, plus a…wait a second.

Seth squinted at the screen, not sure if what he was seeing was real or just his imagination. Then, he took a quick glance down at his arm. What he had assumed to be an IV needle actually trailed, down the bed, across the floor and along the wall, and plugged into the side of the monitor, which was currently giving off a display of none other than himself. Seth slowly stood up, walking over to the computer on stiff legs to flop down in the chair in front of the monitor. After a brief moment to catch his breath, he looked back up at the screen, then glanced around for a keyboard and mouse. There were none. Looking back up, Seth frowned as he tried to figure out how to work this thing. He had never been a techno buff, hell he'd never even gone to school. Him trying to figure out how to make a computer work was like a lumberjack trying to chop down a redwood with a butter knife.

"Crap…" Seth muttered after several minutes. Well, he could rule out sitting and staring in the chance that his focus would make it overload and blow up. He didn't really care how, but he needed to get rid of this data, since he wasn't really fond of people keeping information on him.

Finally, Seth had enough and simply bashed the monitor with his head, more in frustration than the hope that it would actually do something. But, it _did_ do something. The picture on screen instantly changed, flicking to a new picture. It was a touch screen! It wasn't much of an improvement, though. Now, it was focusing mostly on his lower body, specifically his legs. Two thin glowing stripes, one in each leg, went up and down from a half inch above his ankle to just below his knee, but what they were Seth had no friggin' idea. He could barely even read, much less learn technical anatomy terms. It was probably just his leg bone…but wait.

Going on intuition, Seth took a random guess and pressed a button onscreen marked **FILTER**. Instantly, all the bones in Seth's legs appeared on the monitor, but the stripes didn't go away. In fact, they glowed brighter, it seemed, and fit right inside his leg bones, where the bone marrow would have been. Seth settled back in the chair, frowning at the picture. What the hell was going on? He was about to fiddle around a bit more when a voice spoke from the doorway.

"So, you're finally up."

If he had been better, Seth would've done a back flip out of the chair, spinning around to bring his foot into the person's skull. As it happened, Seth was not feeling his best, and was still a little light headed from the 'pure' oxygen he'd been inhaling minutes ago. As a result, he toppled backwards, taking the chair down with him in a very clumsy manner.

Regaining his senses, he looked up at a mass of blue circuits and shiny titanium fused with flesh leaning against the doorframe, grinning down at him.

"Whatsa matter, champ? Did I scare ya?" Seth growled up at Cyborg, baring his teeth. He could taste blood, which meant he must have bitten his tongue again and started up the bleeding once more. Putting a hand to his cheek, he spat out a small globule of dark red, then glared up at Cyborg. The bastard was grinning as wide has his face would allow.

Seth scoffed, then stood back up, teetering on his feet a bit from another wave of lightheadedness. Once he got his balance back, the teen turned to the metal-man, still pissed off. Cyborg just shook his head, then tossed something to the blue-haired teen. Unfortunately, Seth's reflexes were still slowed, and the thing, whatever it was, hit him full in the face. After a brief struggle, he realized that his 'attacker' was actually just a pile of clothes. He slowly lowered his arms, and a pair of steel toed work boots fell out. Oh. So that's why they hurt at first.

His head tilted back up when he heard heavy footsteps going down the hall, as well as Cyborg's voice saying "When you're done, just come on down this hall right here."

Seth shrugged and dropped the pile on the table, then picked up the shirt first. It was black, and across the front was red lettering that said **2 HOT 2 TOUCH**. The pants were green camouflage and the socks were navy blue. Seth's eyebrow shot up.

This was going to be an interesting stay.

Once he had finished changing out of what remained of his original filthy, bloody clothes, Seth stepped into the hallway, looking in the direction Cyborg had gone. A dark, empty hall met his eyes, with red carpeting on the floor and even darker doors dotting either wall at irregular intervals. At the end of the hall was a large door, presumably to an important room. Still suspicious of his current environment, he stepped down the hall, each footstep seemingly amplified, not muffled, by the carpet beneath his feet.

After what felt like an eternity, Seth finally reached the large door, which opened for him.

The Titans were going about their usual business; Cyborg and Beast Boy playing Gamestation, Raven in the corner reading, and Robin and Starfire cheering on Beast Boy and Cyborg. No one had noticed him walk in.

"The thing is," Cyborg was saying as he edged around Beast Boy's virtual racer, "That kid has enough metal in him to be considered another cyborg."

Seth froze, then crept up until he was only a few feet behind them, listening.

Cyborg continued. "And I'm not just talking about those titanium devices in his legs. There's also something on his heart, something that makes it speed up. I also found a filter in his lungs. There is almost no damage there from smoke at all, and to top it off, there were shock enhancers on his adrenaline glands. Seems that at the first sign of trouble, they start pouring the turbo juice out. The scars on his legs and chest that _weren't_ bleeding when I looked at him didn't seem very old. The scan said that they'd only been closed for about a year."

Seth frowned. Other scars? Those things? Hadn't he gotten those from hopping a barbed wire fence? Apparently not.

"So, what's the final diagnosis, Doctor Tin Can?" said the green changeling, smirking as he passed the metal man's racer. Cyborg growled, mashing the buttons on his controller to rev his racer up beside the changeling's.

"The _prognosis_ for you once I pass you up, Grass Stain, is one big ass-whupping."

Seth sighed, quietly, and even more quietly blew a strand of blue hair out of his eyes. The leather string he's used to hold his hair back had been cut off, apparently, since his hair was now falling freely around his face.

"So, are things always like this?" he said, knowing what the response would be.

All of the couch occupants leapt up, startled. All the males swore in surprise, then the gamers began cussing a blue streak as both of their racers on screen collided, then zoomed off the track, only a virtual yard from the finish line. They would have continued in this manner had a booted leg in camo pants not swept around in a blur, knocking into both Cyborg and Beast Boy's heads. Starfire and Robin had the fortunate sense to duck, however.

While the gamers were briefly out for the count, Seth snapped his leg back in, then wobbled a bit, holding his own head. Robin got up and lead him over to a chair in the kitchen, saying "Watch it. You lost a lot of blood. You can't just be up and bouncing around like that."

Seth, egotistic as usual, shook off the Boy Wonder, then stood back up, saying "I'm good. Thanks anyway."

Robin looked doubtful of this, but only said "As it is, you shouldn't try much for a while. Just take it easy until you recover."

Seth muttered something, and although he thought Robin couldn't hear it, he did anyway. Years of sound recognition training did that to you.

"I told you I'm good mother-_mumble-_bastard."

Robin pretended he didn't hear it anyway.

After a look around the room, a thought hit Seth, and he voiced it aloud.

"Hey, what happened to those guys who robbed the store last night? And Reylik? Oh, shit! Is there any alcohol here?! Cigarettes?!"

After being calmed down, Seth was handed a beer and his pack of cigarettes. None of the others were blood soaked, like his last one, so he whipped one out and lit it up, taking a gulp of the beer. One he was done with that, he stuck the cigarette between his lips and asked "So, what did happen to those guys last night? Y'know, after you guys showed up?"

Robin noticed that Seth did not mention his fighting the HIVE. Was it modesty?

All of the Titans, now including Cyborg and Beast Boy, both nursing headaches, were grouped around him, watching his peculiar antics. Raven was the only one to have not spoken, or even to have acknowledged Seth's existence at all, still reading, but Seth noticed her eyes sometimes slide up, not to look at him, but at Beast Boy, then shut and flick back to the book in her hands. Doubtless she had already read the same line about twenty times by now.

An uneasy silence filled the room, and Seth frowned, plucking the cigarette from his lips with a puff of smoke, saying "Alright, whenever there's an awkward moment, there's something wrong. Spill it."

It was more of a command, not a question, and it irked Robin slightly, bruising his male ego. After another second of silence, the Boy Wonder said "We've detained the fugitives from the incident. They are currently-"

Seth waved his hand, saying "Aw, cut the official crap. I don't know what half that shit means. You're talking to someone who never went to school."

Robin was slightly taken aback but instead, he continued with "And it wasn't last night. You were out for two days."

One of Seth's blue eyebrows flew up, and he said "Really? Well, ain't that something."

He didn't seem very put off by the length he was out.

He stood up instead and asked "So…where is the bitch?"

(Wham! Snap ending! G'night! Cya! Oh, and review or else I'll have Seth kick your ass! Neck cracks in background)


	4. Interrogation and Suspicion

(A/N: Don't get used to the quicker updates. I told you I already had this one started. I'm going to be a little bit longer on the next chapter.)

**I'm Not Evil…But My Friends Are**

Jinx sat in the interrogation room, idly waiting for the next futile attempt by the Titans for information. She didn't know what was going on at the HIVE or where its newest school was at. Hell, she hadn't heard from them in weeks. After that beggar had, impossibly, beaten the crap out of them, Jinx, Gizmo and Mammoth had all woken up in separate cells in the Titans tower 'holding area.' The term was precisely applied. Those titanium bars could hold a dinosaur and were charged with 10,000 volts of electricity. Add that to the armored, motion sensing stun blasters hidden in the walls, and it was suicidal to try and escape from there.

So, instead, Jinx was biding her time, waiting for the Titans to get fed up with her and her teammates and just send them to the reinforced max security prison on the other side of Jump City. It would be easy to escape in transit.

As Jinx was plotting her eventual escape, the door slid open, and the last person she expected to see walked in, hands in his pockets and a small, sadistic grin on his face.

**"YOU!"** she screamed, eyes wide, as she knocked the table over getting up, throwing off two hexes. Seth did a no hand cartwheel to avoid one, then pulled a Matrix fall to dodge the other, catching the table with the toe of his boot. The steel table flipped back towards Jinx, and she had to flip over it to avoid being crushed. As soon as she touched ground, however, a green and brown blur smacked into her chest, knocking her over. As soon as she recovered from the shock of suddenly being thrown, she snarled up into Seth's face, whose knee was currently pressing against her chest as he sat on her abdomen. Seth simply smiled again, taking a drag on his cigarette and blowing it into the air.

He then chuckled and remarked "What's this? Beaten again? And in two moves? You guys MUST be bad."

Grinning now, he plucked the cigarette from his lips and stood up, offering a hand to help her. She swatted it away, then stood, staring at him with hostility and suspicion. Seth simply shrugged, turning to the table. With a small jump and a quick leg motion, the table was flipped upright. He then walked over to one of the tipped chairs, stamping the edge to make it flip into the air. He caught it on his toe, then brought it over to the table.

Pointing to it, he said "Take a seat, why don't you."

Not a question. More like an order.

As Jinx cautiously took a seat, she noted the edge that he had stamped. The metal was crushed.

_Too fast, too strong…he even beat all three of us single handedly. It took the Titans three matches to do the same, and there are five of them._

Seth, meanwhile, had picked up another chair with his toe, setting it at the table before flopping down in it, facing Jinx, still smoking his cigarette like nothing was going on. Jinx turned to him with curious eyes. His hair appeared to have been groomed and neatened up, pulled back in a ponytail again with some black string. His face, even though it had apparently been washed, still appeared dirty from a mismatched tan. A small scar ran between his right eye and his nose, coming to end at his upper lip. It was on this side that the cigarette hung from his smirking lips. The smoke curled up past the boy's eyes, past his heavy blue bangs, towards the ceiling.

She watched the smoke for a while, until she heard a thud and looked down. Sitting on the table was a half-empty bottle of beer that had not been there a few seconds ago. She looked suspiciously up at Seth, meeting his eyes. His expression had not changed in the slightest. Not sure how to interpret the current situation, she narrowed her eyes, then slowly picked up the beer, still watching him for any signs of treachery. He did not move. Gently, she lifted the bottle to her lips, then closed her eyes, tipped her head back, and took a swig of the slightly sour drink. After a few seconds, she finished and brought the empty bottle back down with a loud _clunk_, a small smile on her face.

Finally, she looked up, saying "Thanks. It's been a while since I had a drink."

Seth's smile expanded just enough to show strong, even teeth, hardly affected by the nicotine.

"You have a favorite? I could bring you some later. I prefer whiskey myself."

She tilted her head a little and said "Vodka. I would really like some vodka. I haven't had any for about a month."

Seth's grin lapsed a little at this. "You an alcoholic too?"

She took note of the slight accent she had not before noticed his voice had, but couldn't identify it.

For an answer, however, she simply said "No. I just like hitting the hard stuff sometimes."

She lounged in her chair like a stretched out cat, one foot on the corner of the table. For some reason, this guy really put her at ease. Seth let out another puff of smoke, then said "I take it that the others have tried playing 'good hero bad hero' with you in order to get info?"

Her eyes instantly snapped up to his, suspicion and contempt etched on her face. He had no change of expression, unless you call a slight narrowing of his eyes a change. She was about to start snarling about him trying to do it too, but he cut her to the quick.

"No matter. They don't understand people like us."

Jinx instantly bit her tongue, frowning. This was NOT what she had been expecting. After a few seconds, during which she gawked and blinked at him a few times, she said the most intelligent thing that came to her mind at that moment; "Huh?"

Seth stared at her for a second, then started laughing out loud, his cigarette falling from his mouth only to be snatched up by his hand in transit. For a moment, she just sat there, stunned, while he laughed at her. Then, she snapped out of her reverie. Her eyes sparked pink, and she stood up slowly, fist clenched, grinding her teeth.

"What-the-hell-is-SO DAMN FUNNY?!"

In an instant, he had shut up, but that smirk was back, and he had planted the cigarette back in his mouth.

Finally, he said "Oh, nothing. Just the look on your face."

Once again, totally cliché.

"I could get the interview tapes and show you. Maybe then you would understand."

He then got up and, instead of going back out through the door like she had thought he would, he began pounding one wall with first his fist, then his foot, saying "Hey! I know you guys can hear me, and I know I can make requests! Can you bring me a copy of the tape?"

When there was no response, Seth frowned, planting his ear against the wall and listening for a bit, then pulling away and spitting at where his ear was.

"They're ignoring me…stupid _mumblemumble…_"

He turned back to Jinx, who was staring at him with a look that said _"Are you going nuts or something?"_

Seth caught the message and said "One way window. Bulletproof, so don't try it."

Jinx, standing and about to throw a hex at the window, lowered her fist, looking severely disappointed.

She and Seth sat back down, and she asked "What did you mean? 'People like us?'"

He looked back up at her, a new cigarette in his mouth, lighter in his hand. He shrugged and went back to his task, saying around the cancer stick "I mean that we have continuous hardships. Every 'superhero' or 'supervillain' has something extraordinary or disastrous happen to them. If it's a hero, it's usually something that lets them get recognized by the public, accepted as a 'protector' and is usually looked up to. Villains on the other hand have something happen that lets them do similar or even superior things, but usually puts them in a rut. So, they turn to trying to survive. Of course, the hero comes and busts them for that, and they are looked upon as 'evil,' when in reality, all they're trying to do is get something they can't have any other way because they're in a rut. Whether it's food in the stomach, a few severely needed bucks in the pocket, or a place to stay, it's what they need to do. I should know. I've been contracted by a few gangs to help them clear out an area of rivals. But that doesn't make me 'evil.' Just someone who's doing a job for what he needs. I don't get my kicks out of killing. It's just something I've become accustomed to."

Jinx was rapt with attention, listening as he spouted off philosophical crap that, strangely, she understood. It even made sense, once she thought about it.

But then, what was he?

A hero?

Or a villain?

And if Seth was a villain…

What was she?

The fortified door to the 'civilian' hallway slid open, revealing Robin standing there, glaring in at them. He was definitely NOT a happy camper.

"Time's up." he stated, bluntly.

His tone and expression, however, continued with _"No questions, no arguments. Just get the hell out here."_

Seth shrugged, then turned back to Jinx and said "I'll be back. You can bet on that. And I'll have that vodka too. Maybe a whiskey so you won't feel too alone."

Then, he stood up, heading towards the exit. As soon as the door closed behind him, another to the elevator that went back down to the holding pen opened up, and Jinx took that one. Before the door shut again, however, she took one glance at the crushed part of her chair, then the floor where it had been laying. There was a slight dent there. The last the Interrogation Room camera system caught of her before the door slid shut was the sadistic grin on the witch's face.

As soon as the door closed behind Seth, Robin had him pinned against the wall, and while this would have freaked out anyone else, Seth simply grinned and blew a smoke ring in the Boy Wonder's face.

Robin ignored it and simply snarled "What the hell are you doing? You asked to see her, not make friends and exchange drinks and philosophical thoughts with her. Well!"

Seth's grin grew and he remarked "Some things…change."

"Yeah, like how you suddenly grew smart? You told us you weren't educated!"

"I'm not. I just think a lot."

The grin had left Seth's face, and he shoved Robin back with a knee to the stomach, then started off down the hall.

"Where do you think you're going?" asked Robin, rubbing his gut a bit.

Seth stopped and looked back, saying "To get a drink. Why? Suspicious of me because I'm not the stupid dopehead you thought I was?"

Robin's grin grew.

"Yes, but that's not the reason. The training room is in the other direction. After that, you're going to the obstacle course outside."

Robin's grin was almost as sadistic as Jinx's now.

(What's this? Is Robin going to declare All-Out-War on our chain-smoker? And what of Jinx's thoughts? Review, and maybe I'll pick up the pace. For some reason, my fingers work faster as I think of all the compliments I'm getting.)


	5. Sparring and Thereophysical Crap

(A/N: If you read, you will notice I am labeling some of Seth's fighting moves. I am doing this simply because all of his moves are made up of flips, handstands and lengthy acrobatics. If I was to describe the entire move, time after time, I would get carpo tunnel and you would get bored.)

**I'm Not Evil…But My Friends Are**

_"Sir, we have his position re-secured." _

_"Good. Would you mind, Morris, if you could tell me why we lost it in the first place?" _

_"The Tracker, sir, was fried by the Titan's Tower security system. They have a fine tuned projected electro-magnetic field around the perimeter of the island, going at least a half-mile out in all directions. Ferguson had to make some modifications. We dispatched the new Tracker just five minutes ago." _

_"…Acceptable, I suppose. Morris, how is Parker's assignment going?" _

_"I went down and checked yesterday. It's not so good. The experiment is dying. It's plenty strong, but we still haven't found out what makes it live. How are we supposed to take down this boy if-" _

_"Morris. You give him too many titles. He's not a boy. He's not even human. I don't care if the experiment dies now. But we'll take him down. One way or another."_

Seth looked around the Training Room, cigarette still hanging from his lips, but a lot shorter now. All the Titans were currently warming up for the upcoming sparring match between Seth and all the Titans to see what he could do. Right now, Starfire was at what looked like a firing range, blasting targets with green starbolts. Her accuracy couldn't have been beaten by a master marksman. Raven and Beast Boy were at what looked like a large treadmill, with Beast Boy changing into various animals and dodging or smashing the objects that Raven would throw at him. First, the changeling was a cheetah, leaping over a large cinderblock, then a rhino, smashing the cinderblock, then a gorilla, throwing the reassembled cinderblock aside. Robin was beating the crap out of a punching bag, while Cyborg was exercising with some ridiculously large weights. Actually, ridiculous wasn't enough to describe them. Try 'impossible.'

Seth glanced at a few other machines before deciding on a brown mannequin standing on a metal panel in the corner. The panel was about eight feet from the edge to the dummy, and Seth hesitated at the edge. Something wasn't right. He didn't know how he knew, but it just wasn't right.

Blaming it on his paranoia, Seth shrugged it off and stepped forward, heading for the dummy. The mannequin didn't look like it served any function. Perhaps you could hit it, but it would just bounce back for more. Grinning at the thought, Seth snapped a foot around in a roundhouse kick, aimed for the dummy's head.

Something stopped him, though.

Seth was shocked when a mechanical hand suddenly snapped up and grabbed his ankle before it could make contact with its head. It was a battle droid! Seth forcefully yanked his foot away, then was surprised even more when the damn thing kicked him in the gut. Ok, now he was pissed. Seth quickly leapt and did a spinning kick, forcing the droid to duck, then twisted in midair and brought his foot around in a vertical roundhouse, the same move he'd first used on Mammoth. It missed as the droid attempted to dodge, but it smashed into the robot's shoulder, knocking its arm off. Seth grinned, but his victory was short lived. With lightening speed, the droid grabbed his ankle again with its remaining hand and sent him to the floor. Seth came up hacking, trying to get air back in his lungs. Dammit! He was fast, sure, but the bastard bucket of bolts was that much faster. Snarling, Seth leapt again, trying for the vertical roundhouse, but the droid was waiting for him, and quickly leapt in the air, pulling its own awkward version of a vertical roudhouse before he could even twist. Once again, Seth was smashed into the metal, creating a light dent on point of impact. Seth could still breath this time, and rolled out of the way as the robot came smashing down feet first, swinging his leg up in the process. After a split second, he brought his leg back down, missing the droid but nailing the foot into the metal floor, creating another dent, a deeper one this time. Quick as Kid Flash, Seth leapt back up, really pissed now. This thing was obviously programmed to adapt to any combat situation it came into, meaning it could now interpret and counter his moves. It had even pulled one of his own! He had to end this, now. Swinging his legs up, he first fooled the droid into thinking he was doing another vertical roundhouse, then pulled a leg sweep, kicking the droid's good leg, making it teeter on its bad one, then fall to hands and knees. Swinging up into a handstand, he put his legs straight up, then brought one foot down while the droid was still trying to get up. It was sort of like a chopping block, if you think about it. The kick landed right where the small of a human's back would be, knocking the droid back into the metal floor, even bouncing it up into the air. Seth took advantage of this, pulling off his 'leg copter' stunt, spinning his body around with his legs straight out to the sides, timing perfectly. The droid went flying, crashing into the target course and exploding.

As soon as Seth stopped spinning, he could hear cheers and whistles. Looking around, he realized that all the Titans, with the exception of Raven, who was standing by the sparring ring, had crowded around the metal panel.

Cyborg clapped a hand on Seth's shoulder, saying "Man! That's the fastest anyone's ever taken out the android! That thing is programmed to analyze, counter, and sometimes even copy your physical attack moves. It took me five minutes tops to take it down, and I was ready to collapse!" Seth frowned. "How long did I take? Seemed like forever."

"TWO MINUTES!" cried Beast Boy, throwing up his hands with the 'peace' sign on both. Seth frowned, then looked over to Robin for explanation. As an answer, Robin pulled down a monitor from the wall on a mechanical arm, punched a few buttons, then stood back. The play-by-play tape went in slow motion from Seth just staring at the dummy right up to him smashing it with his leg copter. After that, a score screen flickered up, showing all the fastest times. His was up in the number two spot, with two minutes and twenty-six seconds. "I've almost never seen anybody else move so fast. You were almost a blur. I'm surprised that the droid managed to keep up." It was the first compliment Robin had given him so far.

Seth pulled out a new cigarette, lighting it as he asked "Yeah, well if I'm so fast, who got first place?"

Suddenly, each of the Titans became forlorn and depressed, including Raven, if that was possible.

"Terra…" answered Beast Boy after awhile.

Seth let the matter lie right there. He'd heard about this girl.

"Right…Robin, what did you say about sparring earlier?"

Robin shrugged, saying "Originally, we were going to have you fight against each of us, but I'm starting to think we should just move to the obstacle course. Someone could get REALLY hurt with those pain bombs you got on your ankles."

"He has explosives on his legs?!" screeched Starfire, quickly grabbing Seth by the feet and turning him upside down while she checked for the so called 'bombs.' She didn't get the joke ten minutes later either, when everyone was trying not to laugh. Including Raven.

_Around 9 pm_

Jinx sat in her cell, thinking about her talk with Seth while listening to the electric hum of the bars. He was quite an interesting individual. He claimed not to be on a particular 'side,' yet he served the 'criminal' side first. But, then again, he was just getting cash in his pocket. His words began to trigger a chain-reaction of questions about herself inside her head, confusing the witch beyond comprehension. Why had she joined the HIVE? Why had she even gone into the criminal art? Better yet, who was she really? Every 'hero' or 'villain' had sort of like an alter ego, which was who they were when they weren't out saving people or robbing places. Problem was, Jinx hadn't just kicked back and relaxed for a long time. That meant that she hadn't acted…well, 'normal' for a long time.

She heard the door slide open, and footsteps, but her mind just didn't register it until she heard his voice; "Thank you, thank you all, you're far too kind."

She snapped her head up, and sure enough, there he was, standing on the other side of the crackling bars. He had a few new bruises, but other than that, it was him.

He grinned and held up two bottles, one of vodka and the other of whiskey, saying "Told ya. I brought 'em."

Skillfully, he navigated the hand holding the vodka through the bars, offering it to Jinx. She glanced at it then took it, still stuck in mind freeze. He didn't seem to notice, though, or he did and didn't show it. Instead, he ripped the cork out with his teeth, then started chugging away. Jinx pulled the stopper out of her bottle and took a tiny, tiny sip. Even though he was being friendly, she still had some paranoia and suspicions. However, when the liquor hit her lips, she couldn't help herself, and started guzzling away greedily at the bottle. Finally, when she had drained about half of the drink, she pulled it from her lips with a wet _pop!_ She looked over at Seth, who was almost done with his drink and grinning at her.

"I'm sorry if it tastes a little tangy. It was in the back of the Titan's drink cabinet. You won't believe how dry they are around here."

He chuckled, and Jinx chuckled along with him a little. He was actually kind of funny, or was that the vodka?

And so they sat there for about two hours, just talking. After they finished their drinks, they set the bottles aside and just kept talking. About life, about people, about the world, about dreams. It was weird. Jinx had never felt so open with anyone else. What the hell was going on? Maybe next time she shouldn't drink so fast.

"So, what was your life like before you joined up with the HIVE?" asked Seth.

He was currently seeing how long he could hold a handstand, so his voice was slightly strained, but he didn't sound even a little drunk. Jinx didn't feel tipsy either, but she felt so relaxed that she answered anyway.

"It's hard to remember. It's like a different era. All I do remember one thing clearly, though. My mom. She always had such a beautiful smile." Jinx herself had a small smile on her face as she remembered all the things her mom had done for her before…the curse.

She looked over at Seth and said "I'm actually pretty insane. That's why everyone around me has had bad luck. I'm…jinxed. Hence the name."

Seth grinned, shifting over to one hand and slipping a cigarette between his teeth, saying "Well, y'never know. The only bad luck I've had around you was getting turned into a rag doll."

She laughed again, and it was actually heartfelt, since it really was funny. She looked over as Seth took a drag on the now lit cigarette and blew out a smoke ring. It drifted to the ceiling, and she watched it until he said "You do realize, of course that that 'sane' and 'insane' stuff is just plain bullshit, right?"

She snapped her eyes back down to his, a look of question on her face. Even upside-down, he got the hint and continued, "Well, think about it. You're actually one of the sanest people I've met, yet you think that you're crazy. When you just stop and ponder it a bit, you realize that there's no 'sane' and 'insane,' just levels or degrees of insanity. Therefore, everyone is insane."

She just stared at him at first, then she grinned and giggled a little.

"I thought you said you weren't educated."

"I'm not. Yet here I am spouting psychological or philosophical or thereophysic crap, whichever one you want to call it."

He came down from his handstand and sat cross-legged, taking another drag on his cigarette and circulating it through his lungs and bloodstream to that, insanely, it came out his nostrils. He pointed at his own nose.

"That just shows how much of a crazy freak I am. We all are. We just have to deal with it."

Jinx smiled, admiring the teen who was involuntarily and probably unwarily beginning to get her adoration, fast.

"So, what was your life like before you went garbage boy?"

Seth's smile slowly slid off his face and he looked crestfallen. At first, she thought she had said something wrong, and was about to apologize for whatever she'd said when he answered "Non-existant."

Jinx blinked, surprised. Whatever she'd been expecting, it definitely wasn't that. She recovered fairly quickly, though, and said "Huh?"

Very intelligent. Genius. Maybe she should try and get into college now.

He looked up at her with something like…was it sorrow? He took another drag on his cigarette and blew another smoke ring, but she didn't watch this one go to the top. The witch knew he wasn't ignoring her, just trying to find the right words.

Finally, he brushed his blue bangs out of his eyes and said "I say non-existent because the furthest back I can remember is three years."

(Isn't that Seth standing behind you? You should review, quickly, before he quicks you into the computer screen!)


	6. Escape from Insanity

(A/N: For those of you smart enough to see the flaws in my escape plan and Seth's 'Ultima' move...I AM NOT AN ELECTRONICS EXPERT OR A BIOLOGIST!)

**I'm Not Evil…But My Friends Are**

And so it went for about two or three weeks.

Seth trained with the Titans during the day, then had a drink and talked with Jinx during the night. Their previous lives were never brought up again, and the matter was laid to rest. Gizmo and Mammoth also seemed more cooperative as well. They acted friendlier to Seth, especially when he brought them drinks. Gizmo, as it turned out, loved Yeager, but couldn't hold his alcohol at all. One or two gulps worth, and he'd be out of it already, slurring something about heart shaped gears. Mammoth drank his beer from a large metal barrel, which the Titans allowed him to have via a hatch in the ceiling. When he was done with it, he would place it in the middle of the room for them to reel it back up. Mammoth, being very large, never got the least bit drunk from his beers.

It turned into a familiar ritual for all four of them. At about 8 or 9 0'clock, Seth came down into the holding area with his, Gizmo's and Jinx's drinks while Mammoth got his barrel. At about eleven or twelve, Seth would leave with two empty bottles, one barely touched, and the Titans would haul the barrel back up. However, while his relationship with the HIVE members was improving, his relationship with the Titans was going rock-bottom.

They frowned on the constant purchase of alcohol they had to do in order to get the nightly drinks. In fact, Robin was downright pissed. One night, when Seth was about to go down to the holding area with the usual drinks, Robin had stepped out of the shadows and pinned Seth against the wall, snarling "Look, I understand why you need the drinks, but they don't! Why don't you stop messing around with the bad guys and come spend the time you need to with us. Everyone has to train all the time or else they get rusty. You're already rusty, so I wouldn't count on you getting much better at the rate you're going."

Seth had kicked him in his family jewels, but before he got into the elevator, he heard Robin say, from the floor "Y'know…pant…if I didn't know any better…urg…I'd say you were…owwww…turning into one of those criminals."

That was two nights ago, and Robin was still giving him the ice glare, along with Ms. Freeze, Raven.

Seth wasn't dumb, despite what he told everyone else. He could tell that none of the other Titans trusted him.

Robin and Raven were the most obvious, since they only spoke to him when they needed to. Starfire was always nervous around him, trying to make some excuse to get away. It was slightly harder for Seth to tell with Cyborg, but after discovering a couple dozen cameras in his room and about four microphones where he usually sat and talked with Jinx, it was easy to see where the tin man stood. Beast Boy had only come to talk to him once, although it had been about something important; Raven.

_Flashback _

Beast Boy slid open the door to Seth's room, looking around and saying "Uh…helloooo? Anyone here?"

Silence answered him. The room was neat and orderly, with a bed that was made and a clean floor, but smelled heavily of tobacco and nicotine. A few empty bottles of whiskey sat on a small table in the corner, and a deck of playing cards sat on the night table next to the lamp and alarm clock. The blinds on the windows were accumulating dust, as if they had not been opened.

Beast Boy shrugged, and was about to leave when a voice by the door said "Take a picture. It'll last you longer and get you out of my hair faster."

A small green kitten crept out from under the neat bed, looking towards the door. Sitting in a tipped back chair, legs crossed and up against the wall, was Seth. He had been listening to Linkin Park, his favorite band, but Beast Boy's intrusion was enough to make him pause the music. The changeling reverted back to his human form, seemingly very nervous.

"Well?"

"Huh?"

Seth sighed in exasperation, getting up from the chair and pulling his headphones out as he said "You obviously came here because you have a problem. Well, what is it? Spit it out."

Beast Boy fidgeted a little still trying to think of what to say. Seth waited, knowing just how Beast Boy felt.

After a few minutes, Beast Boy said "It's…about Raven."

Seth's blue eyebrow arched. "Really?"

"Don't laugh. It's just…I try…and make her feel relaxed and happy. I tell jokes. I invite her to join us in video games and everything else we do. But…she just keeps…pushing."

"That's just the kind of person she is." Seth said, pocketing his new iPod (did I spell that right?). "Beast Boy, you and Raven are like apples and oranges. Completely opposite."

Beast Boy looked liked he was getting slightly frustrated, but Seth saved himself.

"But, at the same time, opposites attract. It's like magnets."

At this, Seth reached into his night table drawer and pulled out two ovular magnets. He tossed them up into the air, and they snapped together, clacking loudly.

"However, those same magnets can also push everything else away." He pulled the magnets apart, then set one against the metal frame of his bed, releasing it. It fell, unable to magnetize and stick. "At the same time, though," Seth continued, setting the second magnet against the metal; it stuck. "Some magnets stick to some elements better than others. Raven is one magnet, you are the other. You are the one that can stick to the social concept better. If you can say and do the right things-" Seth put the first magnet against the one stuck to the metal frame, and it stayed. "You can be the bridge to the others. You just have to make sure that you don't push too hard." Seth pressed his hand hard against the two magnets, and both fell off. "Relationship chains can fall apart because of these. Make sure you're careful. Understand? She just might need someone to talk to. If you cut back a little with the jokes at first, don't invite her to as many 'social' things, and act a little more mature, eventually you'll have a start. Got it?"

Beast Boy nodded, a small smile on his face. "Yeah, thanks. I was expecting some of that 'romance' crap, like what to give girls for gifts, but this really helps."

_Present_

Yes, Seth had once again spouted more crap. Maybe he could find a good forgist and get a bachelor's degree in therapy. But, back to the present point. Most of the Titans distrusted him. And he didn't know why. He wouldn't have normally cared, but he just had to know; what was it that hung around him that made him so strange?

TtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTt

"So, you're saying that the Titans hate you?"

The question was blunt enough and definitely in the right direction as his thoughts. Seth shrugged, thinking.

After a minute, he said "Sort of. More like, I don't like how they distrust me. We're supposed to be a team, and they treat me like dog shit."

Surprisingly, Mammoth was listening in, nursing his barrel as the conversation went back and forth. As soon as Seth said the 'dog shit treatment' line, however, Mammoth scoffed and said "Typical. As long as the person is totally angelic, they're fine with them. But, if a person wants to keep hold of his old life, they get suspicious. Y'know, we were actually considering going into a regular life when you busted us."

Seth scoffed, blew a blue bang out of his eyes, then said "And just what would you be? Arms dealers? Drug dealers? No wait; bouncers at that Russian nightclub, right?"

Mammoth grinned at the smaller teen, then said "Actually, I had asked a construction company about a job hauling stuff."

Both of Seth's eyebrows went up, and he asked "And they didn't bust your ass when you walked in?"

Mammoth shook his head, saying "Not after I walked up to the foreman with my hands up and the grimmest look on my face you've ever seen."

The muscular teen's face suddenly became grave and forlorn, and Seth actually shivered. "Good point. That'll convince anyone that you're not up to anything."

Jinx got them back onto the conversation they had been on before the detour, not really liking being interrupted.

"You think the Titans will ever get the sticks out of their high and mighty asses?" she snickered, grinning.

Seth laughed, slapping his knee before he said "Bird Brain's stick is too far into his ass for him to have an opportunity. Beast Boy and Starfire might have a chance, though. Raven seriously needs an attitude adjustment, though." Seth stared up at the ceiling before saying "Guess it just proves that nobody's perfect, eh?"

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Seth was going back up the stairs, empty bottles in hand, when Robin emerged from the darkness. Seth almost kicked him with a regular roundhouse before he recognized the Titan Leader. Even then, he was still tempted to kick him. After he had fought down his frustration, Seth asked "And when were you planning on telling me you've decided to start sneaking up on me?"

"Depends," Robin growled. "When were you going to tell us you work for Slade?"

"Huh?"

See? This whole tower is just brimming with intelligence.

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Seth was seated in a chair in the Interrogation room with Robin, watching as the Boy Blund-um, Wonder, pulled out two files and said, at point blank "You're a spy, aren't you?"

"Huh?"

Genius. The new Einstein.

Robin indicated the pictures paper-clipped to the files.

Seth peered at the photos before saying "Yeah, I know those guys. Did a few jobs for 'em, got the cash for some new clothes and a movie or two out of it. Why?"

**_BAM!_**

Robin's hand slapped the table as he snarled "Don't act like a dumbass! I know what's going on! Slade sent you after the HIVE members when they were robbing that liquor store, and he knew that we would take you in! How stupid do you think I am?"

"Right now, so goddamn idiotic you can't even see past your own hands!"

Seth was mad now. People could throw him down, spit on him, then get their asses beat, and he would just walk away and forget it. But no one framed him. He was going to make sure that Boy Blunder realized it.

Robin didn't see the thunderstorm brewing, and instead remarked "Well, I can see one thing; you're going to the authorities, where you belong."

Robin got up and waved at the wall. The elevator to the holding pen opened up, and Robin said "Since you like spending time with the HIVE, why do you go down and stay with them? The trucks to take you to the Meta-human prison will be here tomorrow."

In a flash, Seth leapt over the table and snapped his left foot up at Robin's head, which Robin blocked, but Seth just twisted, kicking with his other foot. The blow hit Robin in the belly, knocking him to the ground.

"Nobody makes a fool out of me, Bird Brain, and nobody frames me for something I haven't done. I'm going to make sure you realize that. Then, I'm outta here."

Robin was already up and swinging with his bo staff, which Seth dodged, feeling the artificial adrenaline pumping through his veins. Robin spun the staff, pulling off a number of complex moves that forced Seth backwards until he was forced to do a wall kick and back flip over Robin. However, that's what the blue-head was counting on. Hitting the ground, he crouched and did a leg sweep, knocking the Boy Wonder down. He then did a fast vertical roadhouse, nailing Robin into the floor. Not giving the bird Brain any chance, Seth landed, then stomped his foot down, denting the floor, and snapped that leg up, using the rebound to throw Robin up right as the kick landed in his ribs with an almighty **_crack!_**

No mercy to those trying to kill you.

As soon as Robin was on his feet, Seth ended it. He pulled a handstand, then used one leg to kick out, pinning Robin to a wall, facing said wall. His other leg snapped up, slamming into the back of Robin's head and smashing the Titan Leader's face against the hardened steel. Blood spurted from Robin's now broken nose, bit tongue, cuts on the forehead, even a burst bruise. After a few seconds, Seth let up, pulling his legs back down and allowing Robin to slide down to the floor.

Standing up, Seth dusted himself off. He was lucky he had been wearing only jeans, a wife beater, and his boots. Anything looser or heavier than that, and he probably wouldn't have been able to react in time. He looked down at the crumpled, bloodstained form of his former leader, and spat on him. Then, he turned to the door to the hallway door. With a few power kicks, the door crumpled, then was blown out of its frame. Seth started to make his way up, not caring if the other Titans were following or not. There was one more stop he needed to make, and then he was out of here. And he was taking Jinx with him.

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Two clashes with the other Titans happened after that. The first was Cyborg, whom Seth heard clomping down the hall, obviously hoping to intercept him. Seth had simply grabbed some pipes from the ceiling, laid flat along it, and waited until Cyborg got close enough. Then, with a swing and a loud **_clang!_** of metal and a meaty **_smack!_** of flesh, Cyborg was out for the count.

The second was with Beast Boy, who was in the kitchen having a drink. Before the changeling even knew what happened, Seth had nailed his face to the table he was sitting at, shattering the glass and spilling orange juice everywhere.

Seth didn't care.

He quickly found what he was looking for. Three large jugs, like those you would find on an office water dispenser, were sitting by the door to the laundry room, which also lead to the garage. At a second thought, Seth also grabbed three large wrenches from the garage, pocketing them, then picked up the jugs. _'_

_This had better work,'_ he thought to himself as he keyed a command into a computer, which he now knew how to work, if just barely.

_'Cause if it doesn't, then we're all dead.' _

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Jinx was about ready to go to sleep with a belly full of vodka, and wasn't expecting the door to slide back open. When she looked over, she frowned.

"What the hell? Seth, did you forget something?"

She was kind of drowsy right now, but she could see the jugs he was carrying, kicking one of them along actually, and the wrenches sticking out of his pocket.

Seth didn't answer until he was at the bottom of the stairs. Then, he dropped the jugs, pulled a wrench out of his pocket, and asked what, at that time, seemed like a foolish question.

"Jinx, do you trust me?"

There was no joke behind that tone, there wasn't even a cigarette there to garble the words, so that must've been what he meant.

After a second, Jinx answered, hesitantly, "Y-yes?"

Seth nodded, then did something she would never forget; he threw the wrench at her. Well, it wasn't really at _her_, per se, but it sure looked like it. Instead, though, the wrench connected with the bars of her cell, and the electricity suddenly started sparking. The wrench was bound to the titanium bars by the electricity, and the crackling was almost unbearable to hear.

Jinx, immediately scared of being electrocuted, threw herself back from the bars. She was about to scream at him, ask what the **fuck **he was doing, when she heard a sharp crack, then an almighty splash. Some of the water got on her, but she didn't focus on that. What got her attention, instead, was the fact that the electricity went nuts. It spasmed, sparked, and finally, disappeared. Then, with a screech of metal, Seth, who was doing a handstand, slipped his feet in between the bars did a reverse scissor move, pushing the bars apart slowly.

Jinx could only gape. This was impossible! Those bars were supposed to be able to hold a dinosaur. There had even been public footage with Beast Boy as various dinosaurs attempting to get through. He hadn't; but somehow, incredibly, Seth was. Using the wrench, he had focused all the electricity in one place, then used the water to short circuit it. The cells each had separate power generators, and it seemed that hers was now burned out.

Finally, the bars were open enough so that Jinx could slip through, and Seth offered a hand through to help. She grabbed it, and he pulled her out. The first thing she did when she was on the other side…was hug him. Tightly. Her eyes were wide, and she was shaking. Why? She didn't know.

They stood like that for a while, until a voice said "Hey, uh, sorry to break up the moment, but do you think you could get me and Giz out now?"

They separated, looking at Mammoth, who was looking back at them warily. Jinx felt ready to kill him, but Seth simply nodded, then pulled out another wrench.

About five minutes later, both Mammoth and Gizmo were out of their cells, and there was water all over the floor. Gizmo was still out of it, of course, but Mammoth and Jinx were fighting ready to help.

Seth had a plan already in mind.

He pointed out a specific panel of reinforced steel. It made up most of one wall, and looked as though it hadn't been treated for some time. Bolts were missing, there was some rust along the edges, and a couple dents where others had tried to escape.

Seth outlined his plan.

"I read up on these walls, and the Titans use a pattern. Behind that panel is the seam where two more connect. Behind that seam is a third steel panel before the concrete and regular steel of the wall of the tower. If we hit this panel long enough, and cut around the edges some, we can get out."

"Hang on…" said Jinx. She was looking up at the corners suspiciously. "Why...haven't the blasters…"

She looked to Seth to find him grinning as he lit another cigarette.

At first, she gaped at him, then said "I bet you could break into Fort Knox."

Seth held up his hands and said "Whoa, whoa, don't blow it out of proportion. I'm not that smart."

Jinx just sighed, a small smile on her face.

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The plan seemed to work at first. Then, things ground to a halt.

Mammoth and Seth started hitting the panel with all they had, while Jinx started hexing around the edges, cutting the panel. However, when they got deep enough that they could hear the seam breaking, it stopped. Seth and Mammoth hit the panel some more, but to no avail. The reinforced steel had folded in on itself thanks to the various dents, and now all they could do was bend the damn thing.

They were getting nowhere fast.

Jinx tried cutting the panel apart to make some room, but the thing just folded some more.

Finally getting annoyed, Mammoth simply tried to pull the panel out of place. However, like a knife in ice, the reinforced steel was too deep. Seth was getting pissed now. He would NOT let the Teen Titans catch up with him. He would NOT go to jail when he had commited no crime. And he would NOT let these teens, branded 'evil,' get thrown in there either.

So instead, he formed a new plan.

While Jinx and Mammoth weren't paying attention, Seth went to the opposite end of the room, stretching his legs as he went.

"Ok, let's see now. How to get the blood flowing, hard and fast…"

He went up to the wall and placed his hands on it, thinking, focusing. Deep within his body, the devices in his legs and heart suddenly activated for an unprogrammed task. The adrenaline shockers went into overdrive and started pumping. The filter in his lungs went nuts, turning carbon dioxide in his system back into oxygen, giving him more and making his heart pump even faster. Seth's skin was slightly red now, and he was feeling rather hot.

Turning around, he said "Outta my way."

This had to work. It must, dammit!

Crouching down, he leaned back a little on his ankles, then leapt forward, running faster than he ever had. He might even have given Kid Flash a run for his money.

Might have.

Jinx and Mammoth hadn't even heard him, since they were too busy arguing. However, they realized what was happening when a blur rushed past them, bowling them over, then leapt into the folding panel.

For a split second, nothing happened.

Then, the entire wall buckled, and, with screeches, crashes and what sounded like an explosion, the panel went through the seam, then punched through the third layer, out through the steel and concrete, creating a twelve foot diameter hole in the side of Titan's Tower. The steel and concrete fell out, dragging Seth down with it, or so it seemed.

As soon as he had fallen about twenty feet, Seth leapt back towards the tower, kicking into the concrete and creating a large scar as his momentum and power dragged him down about fifteen or sixteen feet more before he stopped. As his descent was slowed, Seth peered back towards the water, his body slick with sweat and his hair soaked with it, so he had to brush his blue bangs out of his eyes this time instead of just blowing them.

The debris hit the water with a mighty splash, causing a large wave to rush up and hit the side of the island. Ok, if Raven and Starfire didn't know what was going on, they had some idea now.

Seth glanced back up, and spotted Jinx and Mammoth, the latter holding onto a still unconscious Gizmo, climbing down the side of the tower, using handholds made by the falling debris. Seth grinned and looked up at the moon, feeling himself cool down from his adrenaline rush.

Incredibly, even though no one else had done so, he'd escaped from one of the most secure places in Jump City.

(Wham! Goes to show that even the Teen Titans are blind to reality sometimes.)


	7. Aftermath

(A/N: What did I tell you about my fingers? Well don't get used to it, I just had a spur of the moment idea, that's all, so that's why it moght not be as good. Also, let me know if Starfire seems a little OOC. Don't worry, I can take it. _sniffle_)

**I'm Not Evil…But My Friends Are**

_A figure sat in a room, watching a computer bank. One large monitor sat in the center of six others. The one in the middle, currently displaying a news report from live TV, was hooked up to a laptop sitting on the desk in front of the bank. As the figure watched, he tapped a few keys, pausing the video and accessing a schematic. _

_Good ol' TiVo. _

_Titan's Tower popped up, and the figure compared the video to the schematic. Sure enough, the hole was right where the prison area would be, which was the entire sixth floor. __A few more keystrokes closed the schematic and the video, and the figure leaned back, clicking his manicured fingernails together. _

_A door opened behind him, and a large, muscular form walked in, accompanied by a slightly shorter, leaner form. The large form stayed back by the door, while the leaner of the two stepped forward, saying "Sir, the experiment is stable…for now. We-" _

_"Morris, would you please be so kind as to let Parker update on his own project, or is he too stupid to do so?" said the figure in the chair, not even turning to look. _

_The larger form, Parker, stepped forward, clearing his throat and letting the insult go over his head. In his deep, booming voice, the large man said "We did what you said and injected the live nitroglycerin into the experiment's system. I wasn't sure at first, but apparently the compounds already in her bloodstream made a stable chemical reaction." _

_"**Her**, Parker? Getting slightly attached now, are we?" _

_Parker realized his slip up and said "Well, sir, with all due respect, I've been working on her for six years. I think I have the right to view her as sort of like my daughter. Just as-" _

_"Just as any of us would view **HIM** as our son…the rebel teen who always got in trouble." said the apparent leader._

_Silence._

_The seated figure looked back over his shoulder, saying "Very well. Where's Ferguson with the equipment update?" _

_Morris stepped in, saying "He sends his apologies sir. One of his prototypes was disastrously unstable. He needed to devote as much time as he could to it. He has given me a piece of news, though…the new devices are almost done." _

_"Excellent. Parker, your stabilization formula?" _

_"Completed, tested and perfected as of two days ago, sir." _

_The seated figure turned, getting up and stepping towards Morris and Parker, hands now gloved and clasped behind his back. _

_"Gentlemen, let us have a look at what our 'son' has gotten himself into, shall we?" _

_All three men snickered, then stepped towards the video room to watch the tapes from the thousands of hidden wires in security cameras around Jump City. __As each figure stepped underneath a swinging light bulb over the door, their features were illuminated. _

_Morris was pale, with bright red hair in a crew cut. His eyebrows were also red, as well as his moustache. An eye patch covered his right eye socket, and the patch was held up by six black cloth strips which went around his head at various angles. He twirled a pistol idly from his left hand, tossing it up in the air sometimes to catch it behind his back without looking. _

_Parker was dark skinned, bald, but had a full beard, which was lime green. The same went for his eyebrows. His arms were muscled beyond what seemed possibility, and he had a bloodstained lab coat over one shoulder. Stuffed in his belt was an equally bloodstained machete, still dripping with the fresh combat from down below. _

_However, when the light swung over the leader's face, all it revealed was a black and orange mask without a left eye._

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Robin was so pissed off.

"ALRIGHT! WHERE THE **FUCK** DID HE GO?!"

Although, of course, he was yelling this while his nose was encased in a cast, so it came out more like "ALBITE! BERE DA **MDUCK** BID E GO?!"

It would have been quite humorous if not for the fact that his looks was so murderous that Beastboy, having only a bloody nose, black eye, and concussion, Cyborg, sporting a large bruise over his organic eye and a small dent on the metal part of his head, and Raven, more shocked than scared, were all cowering in the corner.

Starfire, bless her heart, came up with an instant solution to calming Robin down; she raised her fist, then brought it straight down, hitting the top of the Boy Wonder's skull. Robin's jaws snapped together on his own tongue, making gasp with agony as he opened up the cut again. Actually, Robin had really bitten off the tip of his tongue, and Cyborg had been getting ready to cauterize the slightly healed wound when Robin had woken up.

However, now that Robin was stunned, Starfire could finally talk sense into him.

Leaning over, she focused her eyes one Robin's own…or, at least, through his mask. For a second, she did nothing, her face expressionless.

Then, she snarled "And just how do you expect this will fix anything, Robin? Screaming at your friends to find a man you attempted to frame because he had worked for men connected to Slade? You were just looking for an excuse to get rid of him! I can tell!"

Robin was now sitting up, his arms crossed, an aggravated look on his face. It seemed he was just going to try and ride this lecture out. "What was it, Robin? What was wrong with him?"

"He was…friends of the HIVE. He was a typical street rat-" Robin began, but before he could continue, he was silenced by Starfire, who overrode his explanation.

"NO! It was because he would not listen to every word you said! Nobody is perfect, Robin! It was within the nature of Seth to rebel, because that is how he grew up! Not everyone is sliced away to be 'good guys!'"

At this, Cybrog commented "Uh, that's 'cut out to be good guys,' Star."

His comment was met with a venomous glare, which shut him back up again.

Starfire continued. "Some people come from harsh places on this planet, and their nature is hardened like the _snerlic_ after growing its armor! Friend Raven!"

She whirled on Raven, fury still burning in her eyes. "Why did you distrust Seth?"

Raven stammered, trying to think of a reason. Starfire provided one for her.

"It was because he shunned all advice and did what he truly wanted! It was because he still wanted to be the rebellious individual he used to be! ARRGH!"

Starfire's eyes suddenly glowed green, and she screamed out in fury.

"I CANNOT BELIEVE HOW BLIND AND SELFISH SOME BEINGS ARE!"

Starbolts began pouring out of her fingers and mouth, pelting the Med bay with high energy projectiles. The other Titans took cover, trying to escape her furious barrage. For what seemed like forever, the room glowed green. After about twenty seconds however, Starfire finally stopped, breathing heavily in rage.

The room looked like a battlefield.

Instruments were destroyed, there were holes in the walls, and every loose piece of furniture had been either tipped over or obliterated.

Starfire, however, was nowhere near calm. Storming forward, she grabbed Robin by the collar, hauling him up to stare him straight in the eye, still snarling.

"We cannot afford to fight one another! If we push our allies away because there is a slight peculiarity with them, our enemies draw strength from that and destroy us!"

She finally loosened her hold on him, closing her eyes and taking deep, calming breaths. Finally, she said "Friends, I believe I am better. The rush in my blood is gone."

All of the Titans sighed in relief. A pissed off Starfire was not someone to mess with.

Cyborg stood up, saying "Well, given the current situation, we better get down to it. I don't know about the rest of y'all, but I'm eager to get those cop choppers gone."

He walked over to the computer, which had miraculously escaped the barrage, and started typing commands in the keyboard on his arm, which was linked up to the computer by WiFi. After a few seconds work, a picture of Seth popped up on the monitor. Text scrolled out from various points on the boy's body.

Stepping away, Cyborg began what he would have been doing after cauterizing Robin's wounds, but Starfire's rampage had gotten in the way. Either way, he decided it was time to get things back on track.

As soon as everyone found a reasonably comfortable place to sit or stand on the debris, Cyborg began the briefing. It would have to be down in the Med bay in case someone's wounds opened up again, but it didn't seem likely. All the same, you could never be too careful.

Pointing at Seth's legs, he started with "Okay, so we know that these are his main weapons, right?"

Agreement went around the room.

"And we know he's got all those gadgets inside him, right?"

Agreement.

"AND we know that he's a hell of a lot smarter than he looks or let's on, right?"

Hasty agreement.

"Well, I was also a little suspicious of him, so-" He punched a key, and the screen changed. Now it was replaced with several sets of charts.

Cyborg explained "These charts compare the chemical makeup of a normal human with the chemical makeup of Seth, and Lo and Behold! guess what I found."

Point at several different graphs in the same second.

"His metabolism is five times greater than a regular human's, so that explains why he'll even eat all of Starfire's cooking."

A small shudder went around the room. Starfire had a small frown on her face, and Cyborg caught himself, saying "I mean, he eats so much of it, he might even give Starfire a run for her money in an easting contest."

Starfire had heard this phrase about 'dashing for currency' before, so she knew what it meant.

"Anyway, I also found several deadly chemicals and poisons in there too. Small portions of it, but they're there anyway. It's like someone was trying to make him immune to them or something. I ran a trace through one I'd never heard of, and I got an obscure, limited info file on it."

The next window showed the file, with several scrambled words.

"What it's basically saying is that Seth is carrying a compound in his body that increases the density of everything in his legs. Blood, bone, muscle, you name it. It pours out of his adrenalie glands, which we know have hyper shockers on them, and does its work everytime Seth's heart beats. A slightly similar solution was made by STAR Labs about twenty years ago for muscles and bones, people with deficiencies and diseases and all that. That project was scrapped not long after it began, due to the fact that those who used it suddenly became too poweful and had other...interesting side effects. However, someone was discovered still working with it."

The next window showed a small newspaper article, telling about the rogue scientist's arrest. The name Parker came up in the description at the end.

Moving on, Cyborg said "I looked some more in the STAR Labs files, but couldn't find anything else. However, when I went back and looked at another X-ray of Seth, I found something."

He flicked back to the picture of Seth, then pressed **FILTER**. Seth's bones and all his internal devices were lit up, and Cyborg indicated the brain, zooming in.

"I don't know how I missed this before but it's there." The other Titans had to lean in, except Beast Boy who wasn't really paying attention. No one spoke for a while. Then, Robin asked "Is that a…microchip?"

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The door opened, and Jinx stepped inside, moving to allow Seth and Mammoth inside, the latter still carrying Gizmo. Seth frowned as the light was turned on.

The place was a goddamn pigsty.

Empty liquor bottles and soda cans sitting on almost all table space, a half used pack of cigarettes spilled over the floor, stains on the furniture, carpet and walls. Oi Jesus, not even a pig would want to live here.

Seth did another visual sweep of the room, then said "We're probably in the wrong place. This obviously belongs to a bunch of slobs. C'mon, I'm sure I saw another hidden shack out there."

Jinx sighed and said "I know it doesn't look like much, but it can still be cleaned…right?"

Seth ran a hand through his shaggy blue mane, fiddling with the strip of leather holding his hair in its ponytail. A small grimace appeared on his face, but he stepped forward, using his foot to close the door behind him. Mammoth had already dumped Gizmo in the miniature menace's room and returned to his own. He was obviously going to try and stay out of Jinx's way, since the witch had been treating Mammoth to death glares on the entire trip.

They were out in the desert, about five or six miles from the city. The shack that Seth had been referring to was hidden in a large depression in the base of a cliff, facing away from the city. From what he could get from Jinx and Mammoth, there were wires going through some caves under the desert, all the way to the city, where they branched off and went to different buildings to get power and internet connection. There was also a pipe or two for water. These guys were well off out here.

Except that there was no sewage. That meant no bathroom.

Seth picked his way through the junk towards the card table in the corner. He picked up a chair, set it upright, and was about to sit down when Jinx said "Um…Seth? About earlier…"

Seth glanced back, forced to blow a blue bang out of his eyes. Then, he did it again to confirm what he saw. Was Jinx…blushing?

"Well, what about it?" Seth said in a playful manner, blue eyebrow cocked. This was his sign for 'No hard feelings, but let's hear it.'

She relaxed slightly, but the blush still didn't go away. In fact, it actually **deepened**.

"Well," she started as she slowly moved towards him, hands behind her back. She couldn't look straight at his face for some reason. "I…wouldn't mind getting some more of those in the future…but, y'know, more friendly, not something to calm a nervous breakdown."

Seth grinned. Was this the real Jinx? The Jinx under the mask?

"Are you asking for a hug or two?"

"Or three." She giggled lightly.

Seth rubbed his eyes, commenting "It's about time you actually followed your own advice."

Jinx tilted her head to the side, slightly, then caught his drift, smiling broadly and saying "Well, I had to let the whole 'tough as steel' act fall sometime for someone. And, I think you might know this certain someone."

"Oh really? Do tell, what's he like?"

It was a flirt fest, and Seth was determined to win. However, so was Jinx.

"Oh, he's kinda tall, most of his height's in his legs. He never cuts his hair, and he smokes too."

Seth quickly dropped his cigarette and ground it under his boot. "Really? How unattractive. You don't have very good taste in guys, y'know?"

Seth looked back up at her, mischief sparkling in his eyes as he made his way over to her just as slowly, taking his time, seeing the same expression on her face.

"I also happen to have a special someone."

"Oh really? Go ahead, describe him." She was grinning like there was no tomorrow.

Seth stuck out his tongue at her, then said "Well, she's got pink hair that always stands up, wears out of date platform shoes, and keeps telling everyone she's crazy."

Jinx feigned a gasp of shock, even putting her hand up to her cheek.

Drama Queen.

"Oh, how awful! You must be getting blackmailed something terrible to have to want such a horrible girl!"

They were now standing very close. Seth's hands had been in his pockets this entire time, but now he pulled them out, placing them on her hips as he drew even closer.

When their faces were only a few inches apart, he said "Y'know, if you see this girl, there's one piece of advice you should give her."

"Pray tell, what would that be?" She was flashing those perfect white teeth, even in the half darkness, since she couldn't stop smiling. Damn, what was wrong with her? What was wrong with both of them?

Seth screwed up his face, as if in thought, before he said "Tell her she needs a towel."

Jinx frowned.

"Huh?" Wow, there must also be intelligent life out in the desert.

Seth winked, then grabbed a large cup full of water from the table, pouring it over Jinx's head. She shrieked as it soaked into her hair, making it fall out of its usual hairstyle. She stood there in shock as the water rolled down her uniform, finally puddling at her feet. She spluttered, pulling a few strands of hair out of her face to find Seth doubled over, laughing his lungs out. Jinx just stared at him, then grinned evilly. He wanted to up the game, did he? Seth saw her expression, and realized what it meant. Quick as greased lightening, he made a dash for the door, but Jinx was faster. With a wave of her hand, the faucet bent, pointing straight at Seth's back as he tried to escape.

Too slow.

The water came out with a **_whoosh!_** that knocked him headfirst into the wall.

Jinx was merciful though. Sort of.

As soon as Seth was drenched, she shut off the water, allowing the soaking wet blue head to comically slide to the floor.

Seth separated himself from said wall, spluttering and gasping, then turned to Jinx, saying "I guess I deserved that."

Jinx grinned at him, sticking out her tongue and saying "That's what you get for teasing."

She turned towards her room, intending to dry off her hair and get what sleep she could. It was three in the morning, after all.

Before she could get very far, though, a pair of arms wrapped around her waist, and a voice whispered in her ear "Who says I was teasing?"

A pair of lips suddenly planted themselves on the junction between her neck and her shoulder, and Jinx's eyes snapped wide for a moment before she closed them, moaning slightly and leaning back into him.

After about a minute of him sucking at her neck, Jinx turned around in his grasp, crushing her mouth over his before he could react. A slight noise of surprise, and then he returned the kiss, putting one arm up on her back, and the other behind her head as both of her arms coiled around his neck. She licked his lips, begging entrance, and he gave it to her, sliding his own tongue into her mouth. She could taste the nicotine, the whiskey, but it seemed to mix into a sweet taste. Seth could also taste slight traces of the vodka she had had earlier, but Jinx mostly tasted like, slightly surprising, fresh apples and strawberries.

At first, it was simply like that, with them just standing in the pigsty of a room, both sopping wet. Then, with a lurch, they both fell back towards, then started staggering over to Jinx's bedroom door, still not breaking the kiss.

**TtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTtTt**

A reporter stood by the edge of the bay with Titan's Tower in full sight. The hole was clearly visible, thanks to the three police helicopters shining their spotlights on it.

The reporter turned back to the camera and said "Hey Jim, are we ready?"

The cameraman made one final adjustment, then nodded, flashing the thumbs up. The reporter turned on the microphone as the cameraman did the countdown on his fingers.

"We're live at Titan's Tower, home and operations base of the Teen Titans. Just a little over two hours ago, another of our reporters did our first coverage on this incident; a breakout by another mega-teen. Reports say he first defeated Titans Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy before ingeniously releasing three HIVE members and being the first to escape from the Titans' imprisonment. This teen goes by the name of Seth, has blue hair, and smokes quite often for a teenager. Beware, for his kicks can break through bulletproof glass, he is a strategic genius, and he is tough enough to shake off the effects of a bullet straight to the chest."

The reporter looked down at his hand, briefly, on which his notes were written, and then snapped his head back up and continued "To counter this threat, the mayor and Chief of Police have sent a request to the US armed forces, and it has been answered. Two divisions of infantry, as well as five armored units and one Blackhawk attack helicopter are being sent to Jump City as we speak. They will be stationed at the meta-human prison, and will stay there for as long as it takes to take down all the threats in Jump City once and for all. Once again, reporting live for Jump City News Special, this is Stan Johnston."

Stan drew a finger across his throat, and Jim stopped rolling, saying "Stan, don't you think you kind of blew it out of proportion? I mean, c'mon, defeated? He fought Robin and ambushed Cyborg, then bushwhacked Beast Boy."

Stan just shrugged, saying "Who the hell cares? It's a news story. Plus, we gotta milk the excitement while we can. I'm betting this Seth character won't last a week. The Titans are placing a hundred thousand on his head alive, and the mayor and police are putting one fifty-thousand dead. This place'll be swarming with bounty hunters."

(It's all out war on Jump City's most wanted! Now review before a bullet misses and hits you in the head.)


End file.
